‘I could have killed them all!’ – Hamilton

Defending world champion Lewis Hamilton was left disconcerted following final practice for the Bahrain Grand Prix after feeling his entry into his pit-box was dangerously crowded.

The Brit was driving back into the pits to end the third practice session with fourth fastest when he noticed an usual crowd in front of his pit-box.

Over the team radio, Hamilton commanded Mercedes sporting director Ron Meadows to report the incident to race director Charlie Whiting.

‘Who are all these people standing there in the way of our stop?’ Hamilton said. ‘Ron you should definitely inform Charlie that all those people standing there, that was dangerous. I was coming in at serious speed. I could have killed them all.’

Again, tough job for Hamilton

Hamilton has been dealt with a huge setback as the racer has been handed a five-place grid penalty for today’s Bahrain GP race.

In qualifying, championship leader Sebastian Vettel set pole position for today’s race with his Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen alongside him on the front row.

Hamilton qualified fourth but will start the race in ninth place after set a new gearbox for final practice and qualifying, acquiring an automatic five-place penalty. Gearboxes must last for six successive races, according to the rules.

Hamilton had been off the pace in Friday’s two practice sessions, unable to match the Ferraris.

“(Hamilton) will take a five-place penalty. We had an hydraulic leak in (the last) Melbourne race and were fortunate to finish the race,” a Mercedes spokesman said.

“Unfortunately, we couldn’t repair the box within the six-race cycle so (we) need to take a fresh one, incurring the grid penalty.”